“How bad is it?” I asked as we got closer to the curtain where the patient was.
Before she could reply, the wall of fabric was ripped aside, and I was face-to-face with one of the tallest guys I’d ever seen in my life. Tall wasn’t exactly scary, but the size of the man was. If I was lying about my weight, I’d say he had at least one-hundred-and-fifty pounds on me. If I was honest about it, he had one hundred on me. Either way – he was big.
“What the fuck’s taking so long?” he yelled, making both of us freeze in place. “I brought her in to be looked at, not to waste my whole fucking day because you don’t know what you’re doing.”
“I… I just got one of the other nurses, so she could help me check Tana over,” Kelly said, and I could feel her trembling when she leaned into me slightly.
“Well, fucking get to it,” he snapped, pushing us out of the way. “I’m gonna get a drink, and I expect her done when I get back.”
Neither of us moved until he’d turned the corner in the direction of the vending machines, and then I whispered, “Get one of the doctors, and make sure security are nearby just in case, ok?” Not waiting for her to reply, I walked quickly over to the side of the bed and introduced myself. “Hi, Tana, I’m Rose. Kelly asked me to come in and have a look at your injuries and we’ve got a doctor coming in to see you, too.” She kept glancing over at the area the man would appear in when he came back as I spoke and knew I didn’t have long to do this. “Tana, I want to make sure you’re safe first,” I whispered, leaning in close to her.
“I’m safe,” she whimpered, pulling her legs up toward her and dropping them with a groan as she grabbed her side.
Lifting up the edge of her shirt, it took everything in me not to make a noise when I saw the bruises. These weren’t the edge of stairs, or even a collision with the floor after falling down the stairs bruises. The man’s hands were so big, and he’d hit her so hard, that I could pretty much make out his knuckles and fingers, and I was worried about what damage was going on underneath the skin that I couldn’t see. The medical part of me knew her body needed help, and the normal woman in me knew she needed help.
Pulling the garment back down over them, I leaned closer to her. “I don’t think you are, but I want to help you to be. Will you let me?”
Just as she started nodding, the curtain was yanked back by the guy, and I was torn away from her in the next breath.
Before I could even register the fact that I was moving, I heard a deep voice roar, “What the fuck?” Just as a fist that felt like the size of the platter Mom had served our dinner on two nights ago, hit my cheek.
RaoulThe irony that I felt like Rose must have the day I’d pulled the syrup and feathers stunt wasn’t lost on me. It had been almost a week since I’d done it and I hadn’t even heard her voice because work had been so busy. Then, when I’d finally said enough to it all and had given in and gone over to her house, it had been to find out she wasn’t home, and it had stayed that way for two days until her car reappeared yesterday. I’d later found out from Ellis that she’d gone to visit her parents on those days, but it felt like I was wading through a field of bear traps, waiting to make that footstep that ended up with the steel jaws going through my leg.
I now checked my shower gel (refusing to buy the bar soap again) and shampoo – hell, I even checked my toothpaste and toothbrush – every morning. Then I’d check my coffee and stand drinking it while I watched her house for signs of life. Yeah, I was paranoid about the payback, but I was also jonesing for just a glimpse of the woman who was dominating my dreams and thoughts. And I’d finally gotten that glimpse this morning as she’d walked casually to her car, like she didn’t have a care in the world. There was no way she could miss me through the window, but did she throw me that smile and wave that drove me crazy? Nah, did she hell.
That’s why I was going to go over to her house when I got home tonight, and I was going to kiss the shit out of her.
“Yo, Raoul,” Logan called as he jogged past my desk. “We’ve gotta go, there’s been an incident at the hospital.”